Understanding Danish Egalitarianism and Islamophobia Today - Is Democracy Under Threat?

It's hard not to notice Grundtvig's Church. It's the size of a cathedral and has a imposing yet harmonious geometry I had never seen before. 

Grundtdvigs Church flanked by housing in Nordvest Copenhagen

But there's something else notable about the church. It is integrated with an extensive, very consistent residential district. Here is a photo of a church postcard illustrating this from an aerial perspective.

Postcard with aerial photo of Grundtvig's Church and surrounding housing.

The info sheet I picked up in the church explains how this came to be. It was the result of two competitions for a proper memorial to Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783-1872), the priest, hymn writer, educator, and influential thinker during the formation of the modern Danish state. The winner was a proposal for a church by architect Peder Klint and would be sited on the "then unpopulated Bispebjerg Hill, where it would form the centre of a new district of Copenhagen." This explains the perfect continuity of the church and the houses. The info sheet continues, "the intention was to combine bright, airy surroundings with low-cost, high-quality homes built in yellow brick and red roofs for the working classes."

And housing they built, in yellow brick and red roofs, for blocks and blocks and blocks. It is almost all collectively owned by the residents of nonprofit housing associations.

Housing association AKB office at Bispevaenget

Bispeparkens mascot, the owl, made in yellow tile to look like brick

Green spaces integrated with housing blocks that preserve sight-lines to the church

Walking through the many blocks of "low-cost, high-quality housing," all connected to the church at the top of the hill with swooping streets and sightlines, I started to put together the story of the past and present of the Danish egalitarian mentality and why it led to racism today. 

The Roots of Danish Egalitarianism

The modern state of Denmark was re-imagined in the second half of the 19th century. Grundtvig's role as an educator was to establish a system of folk high schools (boarding schools for adults) where many people including leaders of the cooperative movement were educated. Through these schools, he developed his philosophy of education and enlightenment of the general population and an "all-encompassing modern society." At the same time, Denmark was industrializing and experiencing mass urbanization and the formation farmers cooperatives and the urban labor movement in a background of out-of-control capitalism. These movements joined with the social democrats to solidify modern Danish society with the establishment of parliamentary democracy in 1901. At the beginning of the 20th century housing cooperatives were formed, first as building societies, and then as collectively-owned cooperative housing. The nonprofit housing associations of today such as AKB are a direct decedent of the cooperative housing movement. (Maja Hojer Bruun PhD Thesis, 66)

The church info sheet states that Gruntdvig's "significance for Denmark was so great that he simply had to have an extraordinary memorial." The competitions for this memorial were held in 1912 and 1913 and it was constructed in parts from 1921 to 1940. The budget for building the church far exceeded what was allocated for the memorial competition so funds were collected from Danish people, matched by the government. It should be noted that Denmark has a national church. The info sheet comments that because of this funding arrangement, "the church belongs to all of the Danish people" emphasizing the connection between Danish society, state, and church.

1940 Bispeparken plan

The Bispeparken website also tells the history that ties together the architecture of Grundvig's Church with the huge residential district meant for the working class. Bispeparken, one of the large housing developments, was completed one year after the church, in 1941 and Kaare Klint, the architect who took over for his father to finish the church, was one of the leading architects of Bispeparken. As can be seen on the plan drawing, "the area between blocks 3, 5 and 4 is mandatory opened to the roads to give a view to the Grundtvig church."

Just as the Church, educational, labor, and housing movements were connected ideologically, here they were connected physically. The website continues in typically poetic Danish, "It was also decided to let the church encircle a low housing...Gradually, the rings spread in the water, and the result became the Grundtvig church district we know today, with yellow brick houses and free-standing sight lines to the church from several corners of the world."

The low-cost housing was in high demand. Even as it was the largest construction project in Scandinavia in its day with over 800 apartments, they were all rented within two days. The website adds, "Bispeparken was built to provide better housing for the disadvantaged working families in Copenhagen." (http://www.bispeparken.dk/om-bispeparken/bispeparkens-historie) The Bispeparken website is consistent with this spirit of solidarity with its slogan "from residents to residents" and positive description "Bispeparken is characterized by environmental projects with the collection and recycling of rainwater, resident clubs and a very active residential democracy." (http://www.bispeparken.dk/om-bispeparken)

Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Racism Today

Despite its success, Bispeparken is on Denmark's so-called ghetto list because 1) it is a nonprofit housing area with over 1000 residents, 2) it meets three out of five of the Danish government's defining criteria for a "ghetto". Bispeparken meets the criteria for residents who are of "non-western origin or their decedents" (60%), for having low educational achievement (51% only have primary school), and low income (53% of average area income) though this may be based on incorrect education data. (Ghettolisten 2017 and DR) It does not meet the criteria of unemployment and criminal convictions which might indicate a more legitimate burden on society. It could be argued that Bispeparken is serving exactly those it was built for in 1941, "disadvantaged working families in Copenhagen." However, by including racial criteria in the definition of "ghetto" the government's platform "One Denmark without Parallel Communities" or the Parallel Community Package can be understood part of the Danish government's overarching racist and Islamophobic agenda. For another example, Denmark banned wearing face veils or niqab in public this summer. (Reuters) Nonprofit housing, being the place where many people of color and Muslims live, is coming under the fire of these racist policies. Coincidentally or not, these policies would also commodify nonprofit housing.

Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Støjberg is not messing around with this condescending smirk (Regeneren)

It is shocking to read the nationalistic rhetoric behind the government's "Parallel Community Package":

The government wants a coherent Denmark. A Denmark based on democratic values ​​such as freedom and legal certainty, equality and freedom....There has been a parallel society among people with non-western backgrounds....The ghetto must be gone. Parallel communities must be broken down. And we must ensure that new ones do not arise... Denmark must continue to be Denmark. The places where we have got parallel societies, Denmark will be Denmark again.

- Regeringen

Traditionally there has been a perception that Danish society should be all one large community.  (Maja Hojer Bruun PhD Thesis, 2). With immigration of Muslims to Denmark, two foundations of Danish egalitarianism are being challenged: a homogeneous society and the Church. While in Grudtvig's day, this understanding called for solidarity including the working class, today it is expressed as xenophobia and racism. 

Democracy Under Threat

Involved residents of nonprofit housing I've talked to agree that over the seventy-five-plus years of affordable, secure, and resident-controlled living exemplified by Bispeparken, nonprofit housing and the movement that won it have become taken for granted. While the Bispeparken website says there is a strong resident democracy, some people living in nonprofit housing don't even know it is owned by its residents.  

To me it seems that with these policies Denmark is undermining its idea of democracy that it is so hard trying to hold onto. Earlier this year the Danish government passed a plan to demolish and sell nonprofit housing if it meets their racist criteria for a "hard ghetto." (Beboerbladet) This directly undermines the resident democracy that comes with collective ownership of housing. Already, there is a sale of collective property at Tingbjerg being negotiated. 

These policies are also directly undermining democracy (at least in American terms) in regards to people's personal freedoms of religion, self-determination, and equal treatment by the law. The Parallel Communities Package includes "more firm control of who can live in vulnerable residential areas," "higher punishment in certain areas," "compulsory daycare" starting at 1 year of age, "targeted language tests in the 0th grade" and "criminalization of rehabilitation journeys." Reading the policy from the source is even more terrifying than reading accusations of it.

There is a growing opposition movement led by Almen Modstand as people realize what these policies will mean for their lives. (Beboerbladet) The nonprofit housing is well-situated to bring a meaningful resistance as it is organized in multi-scalar resident democracy. It is now being put to the test.